Last week we attended the Workspace Design Show 2023 held at the Business Design Centre in London. The theme of this year’s show was Destination Workplace: Places Where People Want to Be
In recent years, the concept of a destination workplace has become increasingly popular. There has been a growing trend towards designing workplace environments that are not only functional but also appealing and attractive to employees. With the rise of remote work and the increasing focus on work-life balance, many companies are recognising the importance of creating a destination workplace – a place where people want to be, even if they don’t have to be.
Insights
There were several thought-provoking and topical talks throughout the two days of the show. We attended the popular ‘Designing the Future Workspace Experience’ discussion led by 4 industry design experts. These are our key takeaways:
- The idea of future-proofing your space can be an important part of your workplace design but if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t always predict what we are going to need in the future. Panelist Grant Kanik suggested that we break down our forecast into the now, the near future and the far future, never looking at more than 5 years at a time.
- We often think about designing workspaces with ideas of what they could or perhaps we think they should look like. However, what we really need to do is tailor the space to the work actually being done. For example, if your workforce needs plenty of individual desk spaces then keep the desks. If there are areas nearby that allow you to have walking meetings in a safe and healthy environment then take advantage of that, otherwise provide an alternative in the space you do have.
- The solution for bridging the gap between physical and digital has not been found yet. Panelist Shannon Pope-Ellis pointed out that there is still a need to improve hybrid meeting spaces to allow that seamless interaction between people in the office and people working from elsewhere. One question was how do you emulate the benefits of learning through osmosis when in the office in a digital environment?
- Always include room for finding out what your employees want or need in your design brief. Design for that friction, design for the excuses that people give for not coming into the office. Don’t give them snacks, give them problem-solving!
- A popular way to bring teams together has always been through team-building days and events. What we used to do on an office away day we can now do in the office. Bringing hybrid workers into the office is for more than just collaboration; it allows better connection and social interaction amongst the team which fosters loyalty and camaraderie.
Products
The biggest focus of the show was the 60+ manufacturers and designers showcasing their latest products and innovations. We had some great introductions to new brands and caught up with several of our existing contacts. These are just some of our highlights:
PODS
Office pods have become a fast-growing trend over the last couple of years. These enclosed spaces provide employees with a private area for focused work, phone calls, or small meetings. Pods typically range from individual phone booths to larger meeting rooms and can be customised with various features such as temperature control, lighting and whiteboards or AV equipment.
There are now numerous options for pods on the market; we know there isn’t a one-size-fits-all when it comes to pods and manufacturers all have something unique to offer in their designs. Just some of the pods we saw at the show included:
- Nordic-inspired natural wood pods from Taiga Concept with an air purification system to give you the experience of ‘fresh Nordic air’
- Sustainable pods made from biocomposite 3D panels from Vank
- OmniRoom from Mute. was unmissable in its striking terracotta palette. This highly flexible modular workspace can be set up for the exact needs of your office with the ability to add and remove different spaces.
SENSO SOFA
Fora form really encapsulated some of the themes from the show with their design ethos of ‘eat together, work together, breathe together, experience together’ and their goal of creating furniture to improve interaction. Their modular Senso sofa has been designed for informal use such as quick catch-up meetings or coffee breaks. The wooden slatted high back gives the feeling of privacy with a physical separation whilst still allowing sound and light through.
LOOP LIGHTING
Lighting brand Tala paired up with The Meeting Pod Company to showcase their new lighting series, Loop. This collaboration was a great example of the ability to create different environments using lighting in the workspace. The loop collection is made from recyclable aluminium and is available as table lights, pendants and wall lights.
ARCADIA
Arcadia is the new offering from Spacestor – a highly adaptable and reconfigurable system made up of any number of five different acoustic pieces to create room dividers, meeting spaces and open or enclosed booths. The mini versions on their stand were great fun to play with and really demonstrated their flexibility and design potential for future-proofing an office space. The curved dome pieces had surprisingly good acoustic ability even with an open-fronted configuration, an ideal setup for a quiet phone call.
ACOUSTICS
Another popular concept we saw was the use of acoustic solutions to enhance the employee experience and create a healthier working environment. There are several options available depending on what acoustic problem needs solving. All of the creative solutions we saw at the show will also contribute to visually enhancing the workplace. These are just a few of the companies we spoke to:
- The bespoke Canva wall panel from Rockfon really caught our eye – the panels include a washable and replaceable canvas that can be printed with your own design to create a really show-stopping artwork panel.
- AllSfär has a huge range of colourful, versatile and sustainable acoustic solutions. We particularly like the Blom planters as simple additions to an office space.
- This year’s shows acoustic sponsor Woven Image promotes sustainable design and manufacturing as being the core part of their brand. They predominantly use recycled PET plastics to make their acoustic products including their newest addition Fuji tiles.
